General Motors announced Tuesday that it intends to become the first major automaker to design and manufacture electric motors for cars in the United States.

Electric motors are used in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles as well as fully electric-powered vehicles.

The first GM electric motors will be used in the next generation of the automaker's rear-wheel-drive full-hybrid vehicles such as the Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid SUV beginning in 2013.Those next-generation vehicles will use two unique electric motor designs, the automaker said. Those electric motors will be combined with an internal combustion gasoline engine to provide improved fuel economy.

"In the future, electric motors might become as important to GM as engines are now," Tom Stephens, GM's vice president for global vehicle operations, said in a statement. "By designing and manufacturing electric motors in-house, we can more efficiently use energy from batteries, as they evolve, potentially reducing cost and weight -- two significant challenges facing batteries today."

Electric motors will be a core expertise for GM in the future, Stephens said, in the same way that internal combustion engines are today.

"Our goal is simply to establish GM as a leader in automotive electric motors," he said.